Any accurate 20BR 55gr berger loads?
 

I have a 9 twist Douglas and a 8.5 twist Pacnor. I can not get either to shoot with Varget. I see people posting about Big Game but was wandering how well it shoots. Would like to hear actual group sizes other than just "accurate". I am open to any powder but would like to hear/see actual results.

20BR with 55 gr bullets
 

I've got a BAT 20BR-IMP with 1:9 PacNor

Playing with the 50 grain bullets I've found that any powder faster then
N540 isnt going to be consistent. I've never actually shot N540 so had to substitute with H414, W760, and H4350 (tried IMR4350 but it wasn't accurate)...H4350 was 3 shot group in low .2's @ 200 yds.,
I havn't settled on any one powder, still going to do more work.
My velocities are being kept @ 3800 fps to maintain case longevity.
Problem is that accuracy improves with speed.

start lower & work up...as usual
H414 > 34.4 gr. 86% case fill @ 3,796 fps
H4350 > 33.9 gr. 90% case fill @ 3,817 fps very accurate
W760 > 35.4 gr. 91% case fill @ 3,850 fps (need to reduce powder/velocity)

Your 55's might really like any of these powders.
These powders were from 85-90% case capacity...with low ES and SD

I have some H4350 so I will try that. I am going to try RE15 and maybe try to get some RE17. Probably going to try some Big Game. Thanks very much I will take as much info as I can get.

Rl 15
 

Initially, I thought RL15 was going to be my "pet load" powder because I had some descent 100 yd groups...but after further tests @ 300 yards I determined the accuracy to be inconsistent.
There was some really good "teaser" groups along the way.
I'd also tried RL15 with the Berger 55's and thought it had great potential.
What are your velocity expectations with the 55's ?
I'm guessing, 3650 fps
Hope you'll give H4350 a try...look forward to your further comments.

-AL

Quickload shows H4350 to be too slow but I will try it. I would like to get over 3600 with some accuracy. The loads I have tried have been in the 3700 range but velocity is worthless without accuracy. 31.2 gr Varget in the Pacnor shot a 3 shot group of .081 and a .172 in the Douglas but when I tried to duplicate it it shot around 1.0. How frustrating.

varget
 

Looking at my records with 50gr. Berger
31.3 gr Varget was too much pressure, avg. 3,906 fps
As I said earlier, I'd prefer to stay right at 3,800 fps for modest pressure.

31.0 gr.Varget resulted avg. 3,837 fps ES 7.3 SD 3.6
.250" @ 100 yds.
This is a descent load...but I did better with H4350 being .250" @ 200 yds.

30.8 gr. Varget resulted avg. 3,801 fps ES 11.9 SD 6.63
.275" @ 100 yds.

These loads aren't shabby at all...considering there's variables that come into play...human error, bullet concentricity...etc. etc.

I'll be at the range tomorrow doing more of this testing.

I appreciate your help. Hopefully others will chime in. I will be back out tomorrow as well. I will let you know what I find.

unsuccessful
 

Not a good day at the range...shooting at 200 yds.
The accuracy was horrible with all the powders.

I'm not blaming or recommending the powder choices anymore...starting to wonder if this 1:9 barrel twist is any good for 50-55 grain bullets. Other guys are using 1:9 twists successfully but I'm in a different region...and maybe this different elevation is influencing the inconsistency.

The point of impact has changed from 2 days ago...the bullets seem to drift inconsistently with very irregular groups.

Any opinions?

I am starting to feel the way you do. Today I shot .244 @ 100 with 30.5 RE15 in the Pacnor. and .248 with the Douglas but need to shoot them again to see if they will repeat. The H4350 showed promise but I need to up the load and retry. I tried IMR8208 and it showed some promise but need to lower the charge and retry. I have given up on Varget in the Douglas but I am too fast in the Pacnor and need to lower the charge and try some more. I am going to keep playing and try to get some Big Game and RE17. Keep me informed.

some thoughts
 

I've been sipping on coffee and surfing for the last hour...

Will start by measuring the actual rifle twist...never did that before.
Will re-torque the stock and scope.

Thinking of loading-up Berger 40's in the same rifle and shoot for accuracy.
Wonder how the 40's will like the 1:9 twist.

-AL